Remember to Forget
by Tsuki Amano
Summary: The Heartless Invasion may be over, but strange events coupled with an equally strange Leon never fail to remind Cloud that his past will always be just a few steps behind him. To rebuild, sometimes a few walls need to be broken down first. CXL
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer:** I clicked my heels three times and nothing happened. Well, my heels hurt, but nothing useful happened. Aside from the plot, I own nothing.

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The faint 'clink' the ice cubes made as they knocked against the sides of the glass was barely audible over the onslaught of rain outside. Slender pale fingers made fruitless attempts to dislodge stubborn drops of water that clung relentlessly to flaxen locks. Cloud sighed, swirling the amber liquid around in his glass, worriedly peering out of one of the windows at the storm outside that showed no signs of letting up.

He pressed the redial button on his phone and groaned in frustration when the monotone operator's voice informed him that the number he was trying to reach was out of service. Rubbing his temples, he willed himself to take deep, calming breaths, trying his best to stave off the migraine that was slowly building up. The frequent claps of thunder were only adding to his misery. Glancing around, he noticed that the few other patrons of the establishment were like him, tired and drenched. They had taken refuge in the old bar to escape the storm and were now essentially stuck here.

"You know, there's an old payphone down in the basement if you'd like to try your luck."

Cloud jerked his head up, taking notice for the first time, of the lone, young bartender who was holding the fort down that evening. Bright blond hair and an equally sunny smile almost managed to cover the fatigue that was wearing heavily on his face. In his outstretched hand, he held a flashlight. Noting Cloud's gaze, he explained, "The power's out and the generator doesn't really cover the basement. So, I thought the flashlight would help with the…well…you know."

He didn't need to finish his sentence. Cloud knew exactly what he was talking about. The flashlight was for the darkness, which five years ago had gained an identity of its own, becoming something unsafe and something that needed to be feared. Of course, it was what was lurking in the dark that was really to be feared.

Cloud had barely made it to the basement when a particularly loud clap of thunder shook the old metal pipes and he swore as he lost his grip on the flashlight with the shock. He dropped to the ground, hands splayed, fingers scrabbling like deranged spiders as he searched for it. All around him, the gale force winds howled and the building groaned, but all Cloud could hear was his own heartbeat, painfully loud as it thudded against his ribcage.

The room was lit up for a split second by a flash of lightning, but that was all Cloud needed to see the gleaming metal of the flashlight. Grabbing it, he switched it on and willed himself to breathe again, letting the light fall on the reassuringly empty space in front of him. Once he had soothed his frayed nerves, he swung the torch around, looking for the payphone the bartender had mentioned, spotting it in the corner. Now he just had to hope that Reno hadn't borrowed all his spare change.

**_Downtown_**

One man's blessing is another man's curse.

Dress shoes were most inopportune for trying to escape one's potential murderer. As soon as the thought entered his head, he let out a laugh that sounded more like a choked sob. It was amusing, the thoughts that flitted across your consciousness when you were about to die. Swerving to avoid a lamppost, he swore as he skidded on the slippery pavement. He was running on adrenaline and that was it. The sharp stitch in his side was getting worse and his breathing was labored. His eyes were running and he grinned ruefully; just yesterday, he had been buying drops for dry eyes.

But he kept going; some small part of him hoped that he could make it to the main road. If he could, then there had to be somebody, anybody who could save him. A particularly bright flash of lightning disoriented him and he tripped, landing gracelessly on the cement. Trying to push himself up on his elbows, he grimaced at the pain that flared in his ankle. He had twisted it in his fall.

Combined with his inability to breathe properly, he knew he was finished. Even so, he struggled backwards, pushing himself to move. But he could hear his assailant's footsteps getting louder and louder with each passing second.

"Please," he managed to gasp out, "Can't we talk this out? I'm sorry, I'm sure we can fix this." The cold eyes that stared back held no remorse. "You should stop talking, it'll make this faster."

"Don't do this!" he begged. He coughed as he was kicked in the side, his attacker letting out a scream of frustration. "What about the words, 'Shut up' do you not comprehend? I should have done this ages ago and saved us all the misery. No one's going to look for me Victor, because tomorrow morning when the rain stops and the clouds clear, you know what people will see? A drunken fool who was out in the rain. No one will look beyond that because they won't want to."

He was vaguely aware of a faint prick on the inner side of his elbow. The rest of it was surreal. He watched the colors mesh together in a fantastic kaleidoscope before everything faded away into a blissful black. All around him, the deafening roar of the rain dulled into a muted trickle. All he could hear was the dancing of fingertips on the piano. He shut his eyes tightly, willing himself back to that lovely spring party where his life had changed, where he had experienced love for the very first time. His heart went into overtime, trying to work against the poison, but eventually it gave in.

But Victor was already gone, to a field of green grass and honeysuckle, where the sun shone bright and strong.

**_King of Hearts Bar_**

Cloud got through on the third ring. "Yeah?" a deep baritone answered. He rolled his eyes; always the epitome of warmth and welcoming, his neighbor was. "Leon," he drawled, "So nice to hear from you too. Is Roxas there?" That was a pointless question and he knew it. Of course Roxas would be there. Leon always looked after Roxas when Cloud was busy and Cloud repaid the favor in kind by keeping an eye on Sora.

He twirled the phone cord around his fingers absentmindedly as he listened to Leon call out to his brother in the background. "Everything alright?" Cloud shrugged before remembering that Leon couldn't see him.

"Well, I can't complain. I'm slightly damp but it could be worse." He smiled as the man on the other end chuckled. But whatever Leon was about to say was cut off when his younger brother grabbed the phone. "Where the heck are you?"

His grin grew wider, he'd never admit it, but he was worried about Roxas. "I'm fine darling, thanks for asking." Ignoring the indignant squawks, he fumbled in his pockets for another coin. "I'm in a bar somewhere in the outskirts of town. Probably about half an hour from home."

"_Cloud_, this is no time to be drowning your sorrows." This time, it was his turn to splutter. It was nice to know their terrible sense of humor ran in the family. "I am not 'drowning my sorrows', I got stuck in this rain. The job in Junon took a lot longer than I expected. I'll be back home in the morning though," he ended on a softer note.

"You'd better be! I can't keep bothering Leon and Sora like this, they'll kick me out soon. See you in the morning and uh…ride safe." He was about to hang up the phone when Leon's voice trickled through the receiver, "There's no danger of us kicking him out, I hope you know. He's always welcome here."

"Thanks Leon," he laughed, "I owe you one for this though." The other man replied without missing a heartbeat, "Sure, think you can keep an eye on Sora this Friday evening? I need to pull a double shift at work. I'll see you in the morning for breakfast then?"

Cloud stuttered, "That's unnecessary, I really think that would be imposing on you."

"I'll make pancakes?"

"That's a hard argument to counter. I'll guess I'll be seeing you then."

Walking back to the bar, he handed the flashlight over to the bartender, Demyx his nametag read, and listened to the thunder roar outside. It was going to be a long night.

The ride home was uneventful. He weaved through the debris that the storm had washed up overnight and noticed that in spite of the Corporation's best efforts to improve the City's infrastructure, it was all too easy to see the cracks that hid beneath the surface, too shallow to remain hidden by events like the storm.

Stopping at a red light, he leaned back, thinking fondly of his bed at home. He needed sleep. Granted today was also laundry day but Roxas and him would get around to that in the evening. And he really needed to pay Leon back for this.

Shifting his weight slightly, he let his thoughts wander to Leon. They had met five years ago, in the hallway of the apartment complex they were living in now. Cloud and Roxas were on their way out to pick up some groceries when they bumped into Leon and his brother Sora, who were obviously moving in. They had greeted each other politely, Sora and Roxas being the more enthusiastic of the quartet before continuing on their way.

Leon and Cloud ran into each other on a fairly regular basis, in the laundry room, in the hallways and occasionally on the stairs (neither of them took the elevator). The revelation that they lived on the same floor did little to change their relationship. Both men valued their space and other than the few times their eyes met, it was as though the other didn't exist.

The turning point came when Roxas and Sora ended up friends, owing to the fact they shared a majority of their classes in high school. Cloud and Leon slowly progressed from a casual nod in the hallway, to a slight smile and finally, if one was in a good enough mood, a greeting would be thrown out in the open.

When their brothers enrolled in the same college, Cloud and Leon suddenly found themselves spending more time together. Two years after their first encounter, things were finally beginning to settle down after the invasion and Cloud managed to land himself a job in the local police department. It was small, but it was a drastic improvement from the minimum wage job he had before. Suddenly, his work hours became erratic and he couldn't always be at home with Roxas.

This had been something that had worried him at first, till one day, Leon had come up with a suggestion while they were folding clothes in the laundry room. Cloud remembered how he had dropped the pair of fuzzy socks he was holding in shock when Leon offered to look after Roxas while Cloud was away. The brunet had quirked an eyebrow at his expression and added that he was looking at another job and if Cloud returned the favor, they would have nothing to worry about.

It took a while, but gradually, the pair fell into a rhythm. It was also an added bonus that Leon cooked comparatively better than Cloud. In return for feeding him, Cloud often found himself helping out with Sora's coursework in college. He had once admitted wistfully to Leon that he would have been a Science major if the invasion hadn't ruined things for him. He supposed that they got along well, because in reality, neither of them wanted to ruin the strange, delicate friendship they had struck. There was no prying, none of the extra smiling and bonding that they'd otherwise be required to partake in. Which in reality was perfectly acceptable for the both of them.

His coworker had raised her eyebrow when he had brought this up at work once and he knew why. Leon was by no means unattractive. He looked like a male model, with his messy brown hair, stormy grey eyes and brooding visage. Granted he had a personality akin to that of the yeti, but it certainly didn't mean he wasn't wonderful viewing material to someone interested in men, a category Cloud fell into.

Except, Cloud didn't have time for relationships, his main worry was putting food on the table for Roxas and himself. That in addition to keeping Roxas in college was enough work to keep him busy. Additionally, he didn't really know too much about Leon. When they first met, Cloud thought it was part of his persona, a mysterious aura crafted to interest people but maintain a respectable distance. It barely took him a few months to realize that Leon was very serious about his privacy.

All Cloud knew about Leon was that his name was Leon Hikari and he had a younger brother named Sora. They had moved to Traverse Town after the Invasion when their home, Hollow Bastion, had been overrun. Both their parents were dead, so even after Bastion was restored, the pair remained in Traverse town.

Aside from that, he liked to read, was remarkably astute and was a good cook. It wasn't anything to write home about and certainly not enough to consider starting a relationship over. Cloud wasn't planning to leap into a new relationship anytime soon, not after Sephiroth at least.

Shuffling uncomfortably, he rubbed the back of his head nervously. Leon's scrutiny was starting to unnerve him. "I am absolutely, perfectly fine. Now if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to say hi to Roxas and then shower. I'm starting to feel a bit musty."

Leon nodded slightly, "You can shower here. Save you some trouble, I've got some clothes you can borrow. Though they might be a little big for you," he finished with a grin.

Cloud glared and opened his mouth to retort when he was tackled by a flying blur. "Roxas, _can't breathe_!" he managed to gasp out. Leon let it continue for a few minutes before gently prying the younger boy off, "I think you might want to let him go. He's starting to turn blue." Ushering Roxas into the kitchen, he jerked his head towards the bathroom. "I'll leave some clothes out on the bed."

Ten minutes later, he was stumbling into the kitchen, pointedly not meeting Leon's gaze because in reality, his shirt was actually a size too large. He had needed to roll up the sleeves a couple of times and the jeans were quite loose fitting.

All unharmonious feelings were dispelled when a plate of steaming hot pancakes were set in front of him. Cloud dug in with such fervor that Leon snorted. "Quiet," he said, waving a fork at him, "I didn't even eat dinner!" He noticed Leon hadn't brought a plate out for himself. "Did you eat with Sora and Roxas?"

Sipping his coffee, he shook his head, "I don't really eat breakfast." Their conversation dwindled after that. Sora was in the shower and Roxas had gone back to their flat to pack some things. The pair had made plans with some friends for lunch.

"You should get some sleep," Leon noted, not looking up from his newspaper. Cloud grimaced, "I know. I plan to become intimately associated with my bed for the next few hours. You'll need to surgically remove me."

But apparently, the Universe did not concur.

He groaned when he saw the caller ID on his phone. Letting his head drop to the table, he answered, "I don't want to know do I?"

The female voice on the other end sounded amused, "I highly doubt it. However, we did get assigned this." When he grunted to indicate for her to continue, she added, "Some guy was found dead in an alley. They want us to process him."

"What was it? Gunshot or something?"

"Well, actually, there was no indication of a struggle. The guy seemed to kind of have washed up with the storm?"

He huffed, "It sounds like a traffic accident. Why are we being called in for a traffic accident?"

"I have no idea. Don't shoot the messenger alright? Look, Reno and I will head out now and I'll see what I can do. I'll text you the co-ordinates. See you in a little bit?"

He sighed, she sounded as tired as he felt. "Yeah. I'll be there."

"That was Serena then?" Leon asked when he hung up. He nodded, Leon had met her once. Serena was his coworker, the investigator who normally accompanied him on his cases. Along with Reno, the three had been good friends in college and had ended up working in the same company.

His phone beeped. True to her word, she'd sent him the coordinates. He vaguely recognized the location, it wasn't very far out. Picking up his plate to wash up, he was surprised when Leon waved him off. "Go on," he said. "You can do lunch on Saturday and help Sora out with his Chemistry assignment."

"Thanks Leon," he beamed gratefully. "Whatever." The otherwise cold reply was slightly negated by a soft smile.

Unlocking Fenrir, Cloud had to firmly remind himself for the umpteenth time that his elusive neighbor was off-limits. No matter how nice his pancakes were.

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**Author's Note:**

So here begins my next multi-chaptered story! I'd like to clarify in the beginning, this is a Cleon story and there will be Original Characters in this, primarily as it's AU. Thanks for reading, be sure to leave some feedback!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: **I still own nothing except the plot.

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_**Lower Town**_

It's testimony to their years of friendship when she doesn't even look up as Fenrir draws near. Serena's crouched near the body, jotting down notes and vaguely raises her hand in what Cloud assumes is some form of greeting. The roads are a mess, mud and litter strewn everywhere after last night's rain and in the midst of everything lays their victim. The man seems to be in his mid-thirties at most, but what strikes Cloud as odd is how, well, _clean_, he looks. Dressed in an expensive looking suit, Cloud can only assume that the glinting watch on his wrist isn't a cheap knock off. But that's bizarre because what is someone so out of place doing in such an area?

In the years before the Heartless invasion, Wall Market had served to divide Upper Town from its seedier counterpart, Lower Town. In the course of the invasion, the Market itself had been broken down but the attitudes still prevailed. Inhabitants of one district rarely ventured out of their comfort zone.

He crouches near her and asks, "Do we have any idea who he is?"

She nods, finally looking up at him. Cloud winces as he realizes how tired she looks. Strands of blonde hair escape from a messy bun and her glasses do little to mask the dark circles under her eyes. "His wallet was intact, found it in his pocket. It's a bit soggy but there doesn't look like there's any money missing. His name is Victor Giorgio; occupation isn't listed but check out the address. This guy's an inhabitant of Upper Town."

He squints at the license proffered to him, as though it will give him an answer, "This doesn't seem to be a robbery then, does it?"

Shaking her head, she points out a few bruises and remarks, "Everything seems to be consistent with the idea this man was in an accident. I can't be completely certain till I run a few tests on his blood, but it is understandable given the state of the roads last night. I can't tell you much more; the rain's washed away fingerprints and DNA. But there is something you should take a look at."

Pulling up his sleeve, she points at his inner arm, where Cloud can just faintly make out a needle mark. "It was a complete accident, my seeing that. His sleeve rolled back when I was printing him and checking his watch for trace. That puncture wound is fresh and made me look at the other bruises a second time. I could be wrong, but the way the bruises have formed is unusual, inconsistent with what we'd expect. It's almost as though the wounds were inflicted post mortem."

Cloud sucks in his breath, "But that would mean that this wasn't an accident. It is _very_ strange for someone like him to be here. And take a look at the name on the suit. I recognize it, that's an extremely swanky boutique in the Upper Town shopping district. This place doesn't even offer the option of a rental. They demand hard cash. I'll call the office and tell them to put a rush order on the tox sample you send them. Has Reno found anything?"

Reno's a few paces away, combing through the car that was found on the scene. Almost as soon as Cloud asks, he hears Reno's voice calling the pair over. "Got anything Reno?"

"We were pretty lucky; the car's a fairly new model and look at the license plate, it's a hired car. It has an automatic GPS. What a lot of people don't realize is, most new models that have an inbuilt GPS have the software run continuously. You have to manually deactivate the device otherwise it records your movements with a time stamp and maintains a record for a week. The car was rented out in our victim's name which is a bit strange but there were only two places that he visited after renting it. The second was here, where we found the car and I've written down the first for you."

Noting the hint of distaste that flavors Reno's voice, Cloud figures that it must be in Upper Town. Reno's from Sector 4, part of the slums and he holds a deep seated grudge against the wealthier inhabitants of the city. His anger stems from a belief that much of the relief and funds his neighborhood desperately needed never reached and were squandered away.

"It's an art gallery," he notes, "I think I've heard of this place at least vaguely. Pretty close to the boutique where Victor got his suit from."

Folding the paper, he stuffs it in his back pocket. "Alright, I'm going to head down there and see what I can find. Reno, can you keep processing the car and see if there's anything we can use? Serena, wait until Shera comes to take the body and get that sample of blood analyzed. Call me if you need anything alright?"

He sighs as he starts Fenrir, they're going to be in trouble if this ends up being a wild goose chase. Since no one had reported Victor missing the City had asked them to perform a standard printing procedure. Printing was a new method that the city had adopted in light of the increase in crime rates after the invasion. Victims' fingerprints were recorded and maintained along with details of the crime. If and when the family or friends came calling, then the case would be reopened. But Cloud had joined the force to make things better, there had to be somebody out there who cared about Victor, and he was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

_**Upper Town-The Galleria**_

He was right, the address that Reno had shown him did look familiar; it was the largest art gallery in Upper Town. As part of the Restoration project, the Galleria only charged entry fees for those patrons who could afford it. The proceeds went towards the youth of Lower Town, with the idea that they could channel their interests into something more productive. Sephiroth had brought him here once, while they were still dating, for the opening. Cloud had clutched onto his glass of champagne ('_the correct term was flute, a voice hissed unhelpfully in his mind_') and smiled at people he had never heard of.

Shaking his head to dispel the less than pleasant thoughts, he jogs up the stairs and idly wonders how he's going to find out why their victim had come here yesterday. But as he enters, he finds that won't be a problem. A large banner hanging near the entrance proclaims the name of the latest exhibition, "_A Memory of Spring- by V. Giorgio_".

Fascinated, Cloud wanders around looking at a few of the paintings. The man is talented he admits, there's emotion and depth that seeps out of every piece.

"The exhibit isn't open to the public right now, if you'd like to view the paintings; we're open after five in the evening."

Whirling around he's met by a stern looking woman in a crisp grey business suit. Her black hair is pulled back into a sleek bun and her arms are crossed as she glares at Cloud. He wants to fidget under her less than pleasant gaze but instead steels himself and pulls out his badge from his back pocket. "My name is Cloud Strife ma'am. I'm with the Traverse Town PD. I'm here about Victor Giorgio."

For a second, her eyebrows raise and she ushers him into a secluded room. "What exactly do you want?" Cloud's a little irked and he asks, "I'm sorry. I didn't get your name?"

"My name is Isabella, Isabella Giorgio. I'm Victor's wife." Cloud doesn't miss the use of the present tense.

To her credit, Isabella is extremely composed when Cloud informs her about Victor, almost too composed. But what further piques his curiosity is her immediate response. Isabella is a successful lawyer and she quietly but firmly replies that she has an alibi for the time of the murder. She was working with clients regarding an upcoming case, she'd had dinner with them and then driven down to the bistro near their apartment where she'd spent the night drinking strong coffee and poring over legal papers. "Furthermore, Mr. Strife, I'd like to remind you that you require a warrant to search my premises. If there's nothing else…"

"Actually, I do have one more question. I noticed that quite a few of the paintings have a piano in them and one has a young man standing near the piano. Do you have any idea who that might be?" Isabella merely shrugs, stating that she has no idea for the most part who and what her husband paints. She excuses herself and almost crashes into a young, cheerful looking man. Pulling a hand through his dark locks, the man exhales before extending his hand in greeting to Cloud.

"Good morning, my name is Micheal Arvigne, I deal with event management in the Galleria. It's a pleasure to meet you." His eyes mist over however when Cloud fills him in. "That's just terrible," he remarks, "Victor was one of the most amazing people I've ever had the chance to meet. Talented and dedicated."

"You wouldn't happen to know who was in the paintings would you?" Micheal looks embarrassed, "Er…well, by all rights I shouldn't know this, but I overheard a conversation the other day. His name is Spencer. He's a professor at one of the colleges that Victor taught art at. They were... well I believe they were pursuing a relationship. At least, I think they were, Victor's art had become much more inspired off late and he said he'd found a muse."

Leaving the Galleria, Cloud pulls out his phone. He's got missed calls from Serena and Reno. He tucks the piece of paper with the name of the university into his wallet, next to the scrap of paper Reno had handed him this morning and dials Serena's number. Surprisingly, it's Reno that answers.

"Finished processing the car and you'll never believe what I found. So, first of all, other than a few scratches there's absolutely nothing to suggest impact with the body. I know it was raining but fresh water degrades material slower than salt water and there isn't even a trace of blood. None of the bruises on the victim's body match the part of the car with scratches either, which is pretty strange if you ask me."

"I swept the interior pretty thoroughly and again, there's no blood. Absolutely none. But, I did manage to pull some hair samples off the front passenger seat, and they're not the victim's. There were a few fingerprints in the car as well, but none match anything in our database. I managed to pop open the glove box and that's when I hit the jackpot. There was a bottle of Bourbon, really expensive, not something that you'd be drinking unless it was a special event. And…hey…OW!"

Cloud grinned as he heard the phone being wrestled away from the red haired man.

"Finally," Serena sighed on the other end.

"The tox screen came back, his alcohol levels are slightly above the permissible limit, but given the bottle of Bourbon I'd hardly say that's news. For the most part there was nothing else in his tox screen. A few strange chemicals that we linked back to eye drops for allergies. What was a little bizarre was an unusually high level of certain ions in his bloodstream, particularly potassium and bromide."

"Alright, I don't get it; those are fairly common ions, why should we be bothered about this?"

"Because Cloud, potassium bromide is used as a powerful relaxant in seizure medication. Its dosage is strictly regulated and the amount I found in Victor's body is well over the amount needed. He would have been knocked out cold. Which brings me to my final discovery. Victor's death… well technically, it's death by drowning."

"What?" he splutters because that is not what he expected to hear. He can practically hear Serena rubbing her temples tiredly. "I know it sounds preposterous, but because of the relaxant, Victor inhaled so much water from the rain that he drowned. Reno and I are headed back to the crime scene, we're hoping we can find what was used to inject him. It's a long shot but since the chemicals are fast acting, we might get something."

He needs to head back and get a warrant to collect samples from Isabella, not to mention finding and interrogating Spencer. But as he's leaving, he catches a few kids arguing loudly outside the building. It's not long before one shoves the other and before he knows it, it's a full out brawl. Groaning, he along with a few bystanders break up the mob and Cloud threatens them with a night in jail. They disperse pretty quickly after that.

Glancing down at his shirt, he curses. It's stained with blood from one of the punks he'd been holding back. Although he's received confirmation that his warrants have been approved it's too late to do anything. Reno's messaged him that they've found a needle in a dumpster nearby and that they'll process it in the morning. He tells Cloud to head home and get a good night's sleep.

_**Leon's Apartment**_

Cloud's not sure why he does it, but the door he finds himself knocking on isn't his. It's his neighbor Leon's.

Cloud's face heats up in embarrassment when Leon opens it; it's evident that Leon was turning in for the night, he's wearing a pair of drawstring pants and a loose top, his messy brown hair is tied up and a pair of reading glasses rest on his face. Before Cloud can stutter out an apology and run, Leon calls him in.

Later, as he's seated at the table digging into a bowl of stew that Leon had heated up for him, he talks about the case. He can't go into details, but he likes to talk to Leon, to complain about the people in Upper Town and their attitude. Leon is quiet and pensive, he says what needs to be said and Cloud secretly loves how attentive the man is. He doesn't expect the next question out of Leon's mouth though.

"You seem relatively familiar with Upper Town. Did you live there?"

Cloud flinches, he _should_ have expected that. Looking away, he mutters, "No, I never lived there. Some of my cases take me there you know? And places tend to stick in my memory; they have to for me to be any good at my job."

That's at least part of the truth. He knows Leon doesn't believe him entirely but what's he supposed to say? 'Oh, yes. My ex-boyfriend lived in Upper Town and I was a love struck fool who visited him there and hated every minute of it? Of course not all the residents are cruel but the majority of the people I met made me want to crawl under a rock and hide.'

He can't, of course, say that, because Leon doesn't know about Sephiroth and Cloud is unsure whether that's an aspect of his past he ever wants to revisit.

They end up watching an old movie on TV later, comedy since neither is in the mood for action. Somehow, Leon's arm ends up round Cloud's shoulder, the warmth from it seeping through his shirt.

That's right…his shirt.

He apologizes to Leon about the blood and swears he'll get it dry cleaned as soon as he can. Almost imperceptibly the arm around his shoulders tightens and the atmosphere seems to grow icy.

"That's alright Cloud," Leon remarks, his grey eyes hard like flint, "I don't mind a little blood."

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_**Author's Note**_

It's been awhile since I last updated but real life got in the way. I hope to update much more frequently for some time. Feedback is highly appreciated!


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